Charlie Nutt, NACADA Executive Director
With the NACADA Winter Institutes and Seminar, the association elections, and the start of the Regional Conferences, NACADA in the Spring Time is always an exciting time. Spring 2018 is no exception with several other exciting NACADA developments occurring as well!
Organization members just finished the annual Assessment of Academic Advising Institute, Academic Advising Administrators’ Institute, and Special Topic Seminar, which this year was the Advising Seminar: Building and Supporting a Research Agenda within the Scholarship of Academic Advising. Over 300 participants from institutions across the United States, Canada, and Australia attended the events in Daytona Beach, Florida. As always, the participants focused on key issues facing the academic advising community across all types of higher education institutions, searched for solutions to issues and concerns on their campuses, developed action plans to implement on their return home, and networked with colleagues across the globe. These events clearly impact academic advising programs in significant ways to greatly improve the academic success of students everywhere.
The annual NACADA Elections recently ended and as always NACADA members continue to have a voice in the leadership of our association. This year through the hard work of past president Dana Zahorik and this year’s president Amy Sannes, NACADA had one of the most extensive and diverse slate of candidates in the association’s history. Congratulations to all of those who ran for a position this year, because each of you put yourself out there and demonstrated your dedication to NACADA and the future of our association. NACADA cannot continue to grow without members who are willing and eager to serve the association, and I personally want to thank each and every one of you who were on the ballots this year.
It is my honor to congratulate In-Coming NACADA President Karen Archambault and Vice President Erin Justyna as they move into their important roles of leading the NACADA Board of Directors and the NACADA Council for 2018–2019. In addition, congratulations to Megumi Makino-Kanehiro, Cecilia Olivares, and Oscar van den Wijngaard—the first international member elected to the Board of Directors—as they will join the NACADA Board of Directors for three-year terms for 2018–2021. Also, congratulations to Rebecca Hapes, Teri Farr, and Kelly Medley, who will join the NACADA Council for two-year terms for 2018–2020. Finally, congratulations to all candidates who will take on their new roles in October 2018. A complete list of the election results can be found HERE.
The ten region conferences began with Region 7 on February 20–22 and will end with Region 3 on May 28–20. As NACADA has grown to over 13,000 members, it has been exciting to watch the region conferences grow not only in numbers, but in the impact they are having on the advising profession, the association, and student success across North America. Region conferences have always been and continue to be great places to begin your NACADA career by presenting at the conferences and networking with NACADA members in your own regions. I remember clearly how much I and the team of faculty advisors I took from Brunswick College learned at my first NACADA Region IV conference in 1993 in Birmingham, Alabama. It was a truly eye-opening experience for these eight faculty advisors from South Georgia to meet those in the academic advising profession from across the region and to be welcomed with open arms to the association. Every spring, I know that new NACADA members and region conference participants have the very same experience we had at our first region conference. Since then, attending all of the region conferences from 1993–2002 and then having the opportunity to visit all ten regions, not only do I continue to learn, but now I see dear friends and colleagues who make NACADA the outstanding association it is.
In addition to our NACADA Region conferences, there are also may allied and state drive-ins that happen in the spring as well which are exciting professional development opportunities for NACADA members. I want to congratulate the NACADA Allied Association UKAT – the United Kingdom Advising and Tutoring group who will host their fourth annual meeting at the University of Darby on March 27–28. Thanks to NACADA Board of Directors member Brett McFarlane who will keynote this year’s conference and represent the Board of Directors at the meeting and thank you to Karen Sullivan-Vance and Rhonda Baker who will represent the NACADA International Conference Advisory Board at the conference.
But Spring 2018 is even more exciting than normal because of two other very exciting NACADA initiatives. First, the NACADA Research Center at Kansas State University will have its grand opening on March 6, 2018. This is an exciting venture that clearly demonstrates the importance and value of NACADA’s close connection with Kansas State University and the College of Education. There are so many people to thank that led to the creation, funding, and now opening of this very important initiative for our profession and our association. I know I will never be able to thank everyone, but I must specifically thank Kansas State University College of Education Dean Emeritus Michael Holen and College of Education Dean Debbie Mercer, NACADA Executive Director Emeritus Bobbie Flaherty, and NACADA Assistant Director Marsha Miller for all their hard work, visions, and dreams that enabled us to ever make this important step forward, and the NACADA Research Center Director Wendy Troxel and NACADA Senior Computer/Systems Specialist Gary Cunningham for all their hard work in getting the center renovated and ready to open in March. Watch for pictures and videos of the grand opening on the NACADA website and NACADA social media outlets.
Second, NACADA and the John N Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education are making major strides in moving toward our pilot of the Excellence in Academic Advising (EAA) program with the selection this spring of 12 charter institutions who will begin the two-year self-study process of academic advising on their campuses this summer. With the amazing leadership of NACADA Past Presidents Susan Campbell and Jayne Drake, this program will have a significant impact on higher education and student success across the world. I have to give special thanks to John Gardner and Drew Koch from the Gardner Institute who have helped to make this dream a reality.
What an amazing association we all are a part of! Working with all the members, leaders, and EO Staff of NACADA has been the best job of my life! Thank you all!
Charlie Nutt, Executive Director NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising (785) 532-5717 cnutt@ksu.edu
Cite this article using APA style as: Nutt, C. (2018, March). Title. Academic Advising Today, 41(1). Retrieved from [insert url here]
